4,500 Cremations per Year: How We Did It | Drew de Michaelis (Omega Society) #41
Running a high-volume cremation business isn’t just about providing a meaningful service. It’s about mastering operations behind the scenes so families receive a smooth, timely experience.
In this episode of The Direct Cremation Podcast, hosts Tyler Yamasaki (CEO of Parting Pro) and Will de Michelis (funeral home consultant and former Omega Society manager) welcome repeat guest Drew de Michelis to talk about how he transformed Omega’s internal processes to serve thousands of families each year without burning out the team.
Drew’s background wasn’t in death care. He came from accounting, finance, and the startup world. But when he joined Omega Society, a cremation brand serving over 4,500 families annually, he quickly saw opportunities to improve workflows, adopt funeral home software, and optimize every step of the cremation process.
The Challenge: High Volume, Outdated Systems
When Drew arrived, Omega was already handling massive case volumes, sometimes 250 cases a month, but without standardized processes or modern funeral arrangement software. Most training was done through side-by-side shadowing, and paperwork was still heavily printed rather than digitized.
From his startup experience, Drew knew that technology could make operations faster, easier, and more accurate. He noticed that many mom-and-pop funeral homes operated the same way they had for decades, often without leveraging funeral service software or cremation software to reduce administrative strain.
Finding the Right Metrics
One of Drew’s first priorities was figuring out what to measure so Omega could maintain operational health and keep families happy.
Two key KPIs stood out:
- Days in House (Days per Cremation): How long remains stayed on site before cremation was completed.
- Daily In/Out Balance: Tracking new cases coming in vs. cremations completed each day.
These weren’t just numbers. When “days in house” exceeded 5.5, backlogs formed, fridges filled beyond 90% capacity, and productivity dropped. That slowdown directly affected customer experience as reviews dipped when staff were overwhelmed and families waited longer for services.
By monitoring these KPIs daily and weekly, the team could stay ahead of bottlenecks and keep turnaround times under control.
Streamlining with Funeral Tech
Integrating Parting Pro’s online funeral arrangements platform was one of Omega’s biggest operational wins. The software reduced manual paperwork, streamlined payment collection, and improved communication with families. It gave arrangers more time to focus on compassionate service rather than chasing forms and signatures.
Drew also introduced clear expectations: paperwork and payment due within 48 hours of passing. This small change removed delays with death certificates and allowed the crematory to operate at full efficiency.
Assigning specific arrangers to each family added another layer of accountability. It let Omega track each arranger’s caseload, revenue, and even star ratings from Google reviews, providing a full picture of both efficiency and quality.
Balancing Efficiency and Compassion
While the goal was faster turnaround, Drew was careful not to push so hard that families felt rushed. In fact, some of Omega’s happiest customers had minimal contact: one phone call, online payment, cremation completed within a week, and remains ready for pickup. Best online cremation software enabled this simplicity while keeping service personal.
On the flip side, Drew avoided sharing certain internal metrics with staff to prevent “numbers pressure” from hurting tone and empathy. Omega’s strength was its people, arrangers who genuinely cared. Protecting that culture mattered more than squeezing out one extra cremation per day.
Lessons in Change Management
Changing processes in a long-established funeral home isn’t easy. Some staff members prefer “the way we’ve always done it” while others worry about learning new systems.
Drew’s advice:
- Lead by example. Don’t ask staff to use funeral planning software unless you can use it yourself.
- Understand individual motivators. Not everyone is driven by the same rewards.
- Balance roles. Let staff keep some traditional tasks they enjoy, but link them to mastering new tools as a requirement.
- Invest in people. Competitive pay and training create loyal, high-performing employees.
Trends Shaping the Future of Cremation Services
Drew sees technology as the quiet but powerful trend in death care. From funeral management systems to CRM tools and text-enabled funeral director apps, the goal is to free up time for staff so they can focus on what matters most, families.
He also predicts continued growth in online cremation services and direct cremation arrangements not because they’re flashy, but because they’re what most families want: fast, fair, and simple.
The winners in the next decade will be those who run efficient operations while maintaining trust, avoiding aggressive upselling, and delivering consistently excellent service.
Key Takeaways for Funeral Professionals
- Measure what matters. Days per cremation and daily in/out balance can make or break operations.
- Leverage crematory software and funeral arrangement software to speed up processes and improve communication.
- Set clear family expectations upfront to avoid paperwork delays.
- Assign ownership of each case to a specific arranger for accountability and consistency.
- Protect your culture because efficiency should never come at the cost of compassion.
For funeral home owners, crematory operators, and arrangers, Omega Society’s story is a reminder that funeral tech isn’t about replacing human care, it’s about supporting it. Whether you manage one location or 50, optimizing internal systems with the right funeral home software can give your team the breathing room they need to serve every family with dignity and warmth.
If you’d like to hear the full conversation with Drew de Michelis, check out this episode of The Direct Cremation Podcast.
You’ll walk away with practical ideas for running a more efficient, customer-focused cremation business: https://youtu.be/Jv4KVUo2H48